Remember that, okay?
by jin0uga
Summary: Normal!AU. One shot. "I know that this sounds really selfish of me...but even when I'm gone, promise me, that you'll always love me." Ladybug.


_Warning for character death._

* * *

Ruby looked at her and waved.

"Hey." Blake greeted as she sank into her couch. The curve of the cushions felt odd against her back, and she made a noise of discontent before tossing the offending object aside. She blinked. Once, twice; squinting as her eyes tried to adjust to the dark. The living room was pitch black, save for thin line of vibrant city light spilling in from beneath the drawn curtains.

Her favorite jacket lay on the floor, the Faunus having thrown it aside once she'd entered her home. She didn't bother hanging it up. There was no one to tell her to do so. Brushing her wet hair out of her eyes, Blake looked up slowly, regarding Ruby with a dim smile on her lips. She chuckled when the other girl returned the smile, though it was albeit more uneasy.

"Erm...so how was your day? I bet tons of interesting stuff happened."

"Yeah. It's a shame that you missed it."

Ruby sighed. "It figures that I wasn't there to see It."

"There's always a next time." Blake suggested, gazing at her tenderly. The younger girl laughed sadly and shrugged.

"Maybe next time, I guess." Ruby eyed her toes. "I can always hope..."

Blake sighed at the lackluster answer, knowing that Ruby was in no mood to talk further. Bidding her a good night, Blake shut off the television and trailed sleepily back to their room. She didn't hear footsteps following her but paid no heed to it. Ruby rather liked the couch, and she had insisted on sleeping on it on more than one occasion.

Their three room apartment was small but cozy. They'd picked it out after they graduated from Beacon University. Her girlfriend had fallen in love with the quaint little kitchen consisting of an oven, a small stove, one large cupboard and, a nice white fridge. She had insisted that they get a place which had a pantry as well, and though Blake had been hard pressed not to go for the smaller flat just beside Vale harbor; she had been severely outclassed by Ruby's doe eyed look.

Snuggling into her pillow, Blake felt her eyelids droop heavily as she sank deeper into the welcoming arms of the mattress. The empty spot beside her made her heart ache a little but there was little to be done about that. Ruby didn't like to disturb Blake on the days she needed to get up horribly early and while she had insisted that it wasn't a big deal, the girl had been adamant about it. Thus, the couch.

Blake supposed that dating a cop did have some downsides after all. She could never win an argument with someone who spent almost the whole day winning them.

With that last thought, she drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

" _Hey…"_

" _Hey, what's wrong? Aren't you supposed to be on duty–"_

" _I love you. Remember that, okay?"_

* * *

Ruby was nowhere to be seen when she woke up.

Blake moved toward the kitchen listlessly, missing the upbeat girl's presence. The entire apartment was devoid of any life, each small step she took echoing a little too loudly to her tastes. She shivered, wondering when the quiet had no longer felt like comfort. Clicking the button of the coffee machine, Blake contented herself with the whir of small blades and the swishing of water. The familiar sound brought back a sense of normalcy to her and she liked the comfort that the thought provided her.

The machine let a small 'ding!' and soon the smell of hot java filled the air, the scent swirling around the kitchen. She left the machine alone and started making her breakfast, a toasted ham and cheese sandwich sprinkled with tuna, while she left the coffee in the pot to cool. After some time she poured herself a cup, and made her way to the dining room, plopping into the cushioned seat at the small wooden table. Bringing the cup to her lips, Blake sighed as her taste buds tingled favorably, the nerve tingling liquid sliding down her throat.

Her morning was rudely interrupted however, when her scroll rang noisily; the sound resembling an ear piercing screech of a dying animal.

She groaned and reluctantly, answered the call with a flick of her finger.

"Belladonna." She answered curtly, holding the phone against her cheek.

On the other side of the line, Sun chuckled.

"Wukong." He joked.

"Sun!" She snapped, somewhat irritated by his teasing. She'd warned him never to call in the mornings, her temper was always a little short once Ruby had left for work.

"Chill, Blake!" He said dramatically. "Can't a friend call just to check up on you?"

"At 9 in the morning?" She asked sarcastically. "Wow. What would I ever do without you?"

"Be bored to death, maybe. Sides', don't they say that the early bird catches the worm! Or the fish, in your case." He snickered. "Get it? Because–"

"I'm hanging up." She grumbled and smirked when he wailed pleadingly when she pretended to put down the scroll. His pleas turned into annoyed sighs when he heard her chuckle over the line.

"Sheesh!" He complained once he realized that she was joking. "You're no fun."

"Oh don't be so dramatic." She said. "To what do I owe this call? Or are you using me as an excuse to skip out on work. Again."

He sputtered. "It was only _one_ time…"

"Right." It was Blake's turn to be amused.

"Upupup! Don't you dare say anything else!" He stomped his feet, the thumping noise drawing weird looks from his coworkers in the next cubicle. Sticking his head out, he shot them an apologetic smile before turning his attention back to Blake. The sound of slurping that was transferred through the receiver made his eyebrow twitch. He sighed, the sound being drowned out by _more_ slurping. Actually…why did he even bother to check up on her? He was always treated with the same old cold shoulder every time he called, and even this call was no exception. This was a much rarer day though, since she didn't immediately hang up the call as soon as she heard his voice.

As he pondered over her recent bout of hostility, it hit him. _'Oh…right.'_ He sank deeper into his chair, slumping over his desk lethargically. ' _It's because of_ _ **that**_ _. No wait, maybe she's just– Who am I kidding? Of course it is.'_

"–un? Anything else you want to tell me before I hang up? My breakfast is getting cold." Blake said, staring at the food on her plate with a predatory gleam in her eyes. Her hand hovered over the fork, impatiently waiting for him to reply.

"Oh crap, my bad." He jolted up from his previous position, yowling when his knees hit the bottom of the desk. A couple of nosy bastards shushed him, and the steady thump of footsteps that could suddenly be heard made a fearful shiver run down his spine. Peeking out of his own cubicle, he squished down a small _eep_ when he saw the big boss stalking towards him, looking _very_ dissatisfied.

"Er, I'll call you back soon, Blakey." He lowered his voice, speaking hurriedly into the phone. "Remember to stay safe and –hello? Hello?!"

Sun groaned into the receiver, the words 'Call Ended' flashing repeatedly on his scroll. He was so tempted to call her back one more time, his childish side cackled in glee, but from the sound of that loud harrumph coming from behind him, Sun had a fleeting thought that he was going to be a _very_ busy man in the days to come.

* * *

" _Blake? Have you seen–?"_

 _A muted sob made him pause, eyes widening in horror._

" _S-She told me that she l-loved me…"_

 _Muttering an apology, he ended the call and growled in frustration, drawing his arm back and sending his scroll flying across the room, pulling two of his colleagues by their collars. Glaring at them when they protested, he barked out orders to the surrounding trainees._

" _Search all the places the suspect was last seen! HURRY!"_

* * *

Blake placed the dirty dishes in the sink, smiling contentedly. Rubbing her stomach in small circles, she sauntered back to the living room, plopping onto the couch. Catching the sight of her favourite jacket laying listlessly on the carpet, she huffed tiredly and bent down to snatch it up, draping it on the armrest.

She threw a glance at the wall clock, taking note that it was only eleven am. She looked around, completely at a loss as to what she should do to pass the sudden influx of free time. Her blank stare found itself shifting to the smart looking coffee table in front of the TV. The pile of neatly stacked papers caught her eye, but for some reason, she had no desire to retrieve them and read through their contents. Still…it wasn't like she had anything better to do.

"Ah, what the heck." She threw her hands up in annoyance. "Reading one of it should be more than enough. Jeez, did Ruby forget to pay the electricity bill again?

Too lazy to stand up, Blake caught one end of the topmost papers with the gap between her toes and grabbed it when it was brought close enough. She skimmed through the first sentence.

' _In Loving Memory of _"_

Her eyebrows knotted. Strange…the next few words were smudged. Or destroyed, somehow. There was a grey patch where they once were, making them almost unrecognizable, only the tail end of each letter visible under the natural light. Blake vaguely remembered reading something like this, but the thought seemed to slip through her grasp. It was like trying to catch a cloud, it was constantly slipping out of her reach each time she reached for it. Unable to pin point the occasion where she'd seen it, Blake groaned, eyes rolling into back of her head as tossed the letter aside.

Her head hurt to think about it.

And as she let her mind drift into oblivion, the image of Ruby in red and blue flickered in and out of existence.

* * *

" _No…no no no!"_

" _Blake…"_

" _Wake up! Please, wake up!"_

 _She turned on him, amber eyes blazing with fury and despair._

" _Don't just stand there! Do something!"_

" _Blake…she's already–"_

* * *

The late afternoon sun beat against the back of her jacket. The park seemed almost ethereal; warm oranges colliding with dull greys, bright greens against dark crimson. It was like something straight from a painting, and it felt the same too. Like she was on the other side of the glass, gazing in at the scene that played out before her.

Blake walked through the park listlessly, her mind elsewhere. She didn't know what to make of her current emotional state. There seemed to be…something missing. Something important. There was a vague emptiness in her chest, and she couldn't seem to decipher what it was. Normally, she would have called Ruby to ask about her day at this time, but the call couldn't seem to get through. She wondered if her girlfriend was in a place without reception…after all, it was unlikely that Ruby would shut of her scroll. She was at risk of missing an emergency call after all.

Blake came to a stop when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She whirled around in surprise, body immediately tensing. The jogger pulled her hand back, backing away in slight fear when the brunette suddenly went into a defensive stance.

Seeing that the other woman meant no harm, Blake relaxed, shooting her an annoyed glare.

"Can I help you?"

"E-Erm, sorry…" The jogger spluttered, looking slightly embarrassed. "I didn't mean to shock you or anything."

"No, it's fine." Blake tried to smile, though she was sure it came out more like a grimace. "I'm just slightly on edge. So, did you need something?"

"I-I just wanted to, er," She swallowed. "S-See if you were doing alright."

Blake blinked. "For…?"

"I was the one who f-found her. Your f-friend, I mean."

She was awarded with a blank stare. She took in a deep breath, trying to steel her nerves. She really hated rubbing salt someone else's wounds, but she _truly_ just wanted to know if the other was alright. After all, losing someone was hard…

"Her name was, Ruby, yes? I-I was the one who helped her dial your number. It was the only thing I could do after I called the police. There was just s-so much blood."

" _I love you. Remember that, okay?"_

" _W-What are you saying? This isn't funny Ruby! Don't you dare–!"_

 _"I know that this sounds really selfish of me, but…even when I'm gone, promise me, that you'll always love me."_

" _I'm not… I-I'm not saying anything until you tell me what's happening!"_

" _Please, Blake. Promise me."_

" _I-I..."_

" _Blake–!"_

" _I…I promise, Ruby."_

 _She could almost see Ruby, with that big dopey smile plastered across her naturally rosy cheeks._

" _Don't forget me, okay? I love–"_

"I insisted that she needed to rest, or at least stop the bleeding b-but she told me that the only thing she needed, was to hear your voice. So I did what she asked."

The woman paused to look up, taking in the blank face of the brunette. She bit her lip in worry. "Miss…?" She called, tentatively reaching for the hand hanging limply by her sides.

" _Don't touch me!_ " Blake hissed, eyes flashing angrily as she took a step back. The abrupt shout made her flinch, stumbling backwards clumsily.

"I-I gotta go. I need to get back soon, m-my girlfriend is waiting for me. I can't stay here–"

The dumbfounded woman watched as the brunette sped off, the last splashes of sunlight painted across the retreating back.

* * *

Blake burst into the empty apartment.

She panted, amber eyes not concentrating on anything in particular as she kicked her shoes aside, heading straight towards the living room. In her hurry, Blake crashed into the edge of the coffee table, her knee screaming for reprieve as she yowled in pain. The stack of papers on the table were sent tumbling, the fluttering of sheets melding together with the shouts. Holding her bruised knee, Blake rubbed the patch of skin in wild circles.

So preoccupied with the pain, Blake looked down to scan the extent of her damage. And found herself staring at the computer generated words on a stray piece of paper lying at her feet. Her heart thudded painfully.

' _In Loving Memory of_ _Ruby Rose_

 _A Daughter. A Sister. A Lover. A friend._

 _May She Rest In Peace'_

Blake tore the invitation in half.

"Ruby…" She wailed, tears blurring her vision as she searched for the TV remote. Finding it buried underneath the couch cushions, she bit down a sob as the machine whirred to life. The light blinked from red to green, and the screen flickered to life just as the video player started up.

Ruby's face appeared, her skin tinted with rosiness that made Blake's chest tighten. She huddled in closer to the image, wet fingers pressing against the glass screen.

Ruby looked at her and waved.

"Hey." Blake choked out, tears spilling freely from her eyes as she took in the form of her girlfriend, breathing and _alive_. Ruby bobbed her head from side to side, looking abit nervous as she stared at the camera. She took in a breath and smiled, the action sending a flash of emotion through her despairing lover.

"Erm...so how was your day? I bet tons of interesting stuff happened."

"Yeah." Blake blubbered. "It's a shame that you missed it."

Ruby sighed. "It figures that I wasn't there to see It."

"There's always a next time." Blake said, stroking Ruby's cheek. She ignored the cold touch of the glass and focused on the furrow in her brow, the slight dimples in her cheeks when she smiled. She soaked everything in. She had to. To remember every curve, every feature, every emotion.

She couldn't forget. She promised.

The younger girl laughed sadly and shrugged.

"Maybe next time, I guess." Ruby eyed her toes. "I can always hope..."

" _Oh Ruby…"_ Blake breathed.

"But if you're watching this, it means that I don't have a next time, huh?"

"You do–!"

"I'm sorry." Ruby said somberly, her stare piercing straight through Blake. "For putting you through this. You must hate me…I won't be surprised if you did."

"I don't..." Blake sniffled, her vision blurred by the new wave of tears. "I still love you Ruby. _I love you_."

"But the only thing I need you to know…is that I love you. Remember that, okay?"

"Okay." Blake cried, pressing her forehead against the rough grain of the TV cabinet. "Okay."


End file.
